Most Spankable Women of the Twentieth Century
js...@my-deja.com
everyone celebrated the end of the century and millennium a year early.
Unfortunately, my computer was down last New Year -- not Y2K, though --
so I wasn't able to do this.
The century just past was ambiguous for many of us. It was a time of
great advances for women which almost all of us approve. It was also,
however, probably the golden age of punishment spanking, when millions
of young women revolted against convention and authority -- and
authority was often still up to doing something about it. Here is my
list of the most spankable women of the 20th Century, decade by decade:
1900's --
The Victorian Age was officially over, and things began changing, though
only slowly at first.
EVELYN NESBIT -- This beautiful showgirl was the central figure in a
high-profile murder case. Her socialite husband, Harry Thaw, became
enraged when he learned that she had had an affair with a prominent
architect, before they were married, so he shot the architect in the
middle of a crowded restaurant. His wealthy family arranged for him to
get off on an insanity plea. Thaw, incidentally, was a bit of a sadist
who was notorious for whipping and spanking women, apparently including
Evelyn. (Elizabeth McGovern played her in "Ragtime.")
ALICE ROOSEVELT LONGWORTH -- Princess Alice, daughter of the President,
was supposedly the model for the "Gibson Girl," and famous for her
"liberated" behavior. When her father was told that he should control
her, he replied, "I can be President or I can control Alice, but I can't
do both." (Readers of this NG may have suggestions on how he could
indeed control Alice with little difficulty.) Later, she is supposed to
have destroyed the career of Thomas Dewey with her quip that he looked
like "the little man on the wedding cake." (A deliciously bratty Linda
Purl played her in "Eleanor and Franklin.")
1910's --
Reluctantly, we must disqualify the clear public favorite, Rose
Dewitt-Bukater, on grounds of fictionality. This is the decade when
women got the vote -- and promptly enacted Prohibition and elected an
incompetent matinee idol President.
ISADORA DUNCAN -- Inventor of the modern dance, it can be presumed that
she would have improvised one of her best creations, making extensive
use of rubbing, upon being let up off someone's lap.
MARY PICKFORD -- Best known for playing little girls long into
adulthood, her films sadly omitted one near-universal childhood
experience.
MABEL NORMAND -- She is regarded by some as the greatest film comedienne
of all time, but her later life was clouded by an unfortunate knack for
being around when men were murdered, by drug abuse, and by tuberculosis,
which took her in her early thirties. She received at least one
on-screen spanking.
1920's --
This is a decade calling for the collective recognition of an entire
generation -- the Flapper. Short skirts, bobbed hair, make-up,
cigarettes, and crazy dancing all provided welcome occasions for
parental attention.
MARGARET GORMAN -- And who was Margaret Gorman you may be asking. She
was the very first Miss America, and she should stand in for all those
lovelies who parade across the stage in bathing suit and heels.
JOAN CRAWFORD -- Long before she was a gay camp icon (and a poster girl
for child-abusers) Joan starred in a series of films with titles like
"Our Dancing Daughters," where she played the rebellious flapper who
resisted all parental authority. And what should she be spanked with? Do
you have to ask?
CLARA BOW -- The "It Girl," so-called because she "had it," the breezy
and delicious Clara was a superstar of the late 20's. Her career
collapsed when the coming of sound revealed that she had a thick
Brooklyn accent.
AMIMEE SEMPLE McPHERSON -- A great evangelist, she staged her own
kidnapping so that she could spend some time with her boyfriend. The
country went into a panic, and there were several deaths. That was very
naughty of her, wasn't it?
LORENE JONES -- Another extremely obscure reference, Lorene was a Kansas
16-year-old who had her mother arrested for whipping her bare bottom
with a wooden coathanger. The community was in an uproar for a week, but
Lorene relented, went home, and asked her mother to spank her again.
1930's --
Remembered mainly for the gritty Depression era, it was also a time of
glamor in Hollywood and the "cafe society."
SHIRLEY TEMPLE -- O.K., I know most of this NG isn't into
child-spanking, but little Shirley was too much of an icon to get away.
Perhaps she could be given a twenty-year reprieve until the late 50's,
when she was doing those "Storybook" monstrosities.
DOROTHY PARKER -- She of the "vicious circle," the Algonquin Roundtable,
Dorothy is best known today as the author of the immortal lines: "Men
never make passes/At girls who wear glasses."
DOROTHY SPENCER -- Developer of the famous "spanking plan" for
preserving marriages, she should certainly be expected to test it
herself, as she may have done.
BRENDA FRAZIER -- Brenda was the ultimate debutante of this Depression
decade. Breath-takingly beautiful, she posed for soap ads when she
wasn't attending benefits for poor relief. What exactly did debutantes
DO anyway?
GRACIE ALLEN -- This was the "Golden Age of Radio," and I just had to
include one ditzy lady from that medium. And George Burns, who wasn't
always the fossil that younger generations remember, was just the one to
respond forcefully to having his patience tried once too often.
1940's --
This was the decade when women came out of the home in unprecedented
numbers to help save the world -- and sometimes had to be "persuaded" to
return when the men got home. A reading of the newspapers of the time
shows that in more than a few cases, the persuasion took what for us is
a most delightful form.
RUTH GLEAVE -- Ruth who? O.K., this one is really obscure. Ruth was the
star of the "Life Magazine" photo spread on sorority paddling at the
University of Utah in 1941. Everyone has seen the shot of the girls
lined up for their spankings (if "everyone" doesn't include you, check
it out at "http://members.tripod.com/Mystique_/Gallery/sor.jpg"), but
the facing page had a series of cheesecake shots of Ruth, a cute
freshman, demonstrating all the ways a girl could get in trouble with
the sorority's modesty code. The editors ended up going with the shot of
Toni Ryberg getting whacked, but right next to her is our Ruth, bending
over with her little bottom sticking out ready.
BETTY GRABLE -- Many a lonely G.I., far from his wife or sweetheart,
fell asleep looking at the famous pin-up of Betty showing off the
portion of the female anatomy which would have to receive attention when
he got home.
SUSAN HAYWARD -- There's always an embarrassment of riches in Hollywood,
but a choice for the impudent little Susan is clinched by the fact that
she divorced one of her husbands for spanking her -- apparently with
ample reason, if one would need a reason.
1950's --
This was the decade of obsessive normality, most famously reflected in
the new medium of television -- though not in its real life. All that
conformity required enforcement, of course.
LUCILLE BALL -- Millions tuned in each week to watch Lucy behave in ways
that should have earned her regular trips across Ricky's knee. "Waaaa!"
GAIL DAVIS -- She played "Annie Oakley" and was the idol of every kid in
the country. Though Annie herself never got one as far as I know, Gail's
career, which largely involved Western roles, included several.
ZSA ZSA GABOR -- Personifying what would later be called "Eurotrash,"
Zsa Zsa was in her prime. Married many times, she supposedly told a
talk-show host -- Merv Griffin, I think -- that all of her husbands
spanked her. It is in this context that we should evaluate a statement
in her autobiography that she kep looking for a man who could measure up
to her father.
BRIGITTE BARDOT -- I recall an informal survey of college men who rated
her "Most Spankable" at the time. That pouting could really get on
someone's nerves, n'est-ce pas?"
MARILYN MONROE -- Vulnerability and a killer bod -- what more could you
ask? Actually, Marilyn is a leading contender for the title "Most
Spankable of the Century." Anyone need to be told why?
1960's --
Remembered as the decade of the hippies, elegance and sophistication
were much more typical of the decade when the monobuttock gave way to
the miniskirt. This was the Indian Summer of the punishment spanking.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR -- We've gotten used to her now, but back then she was
oh, so scandalous. Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, and Sybil Burton would
no doubt have waited in line for a crack at her.
MARY TYLER MOORE -- Considered quite liberated in her role as Laura
Petrie, she popularized Capri pants as a symbol of modernity. The
garment is unendingly inviting for our purposes.
BARBARA EDEN -- She is a hard choice in competition with Donna Douglas
of "Beverly Hillbillies" and Tina Louise of "Gilligan's Island." But
there is a certain impudence about her that calls for correction by her
Master.
JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS -- The epitome of beauty and "class," Jackie
was the ultimate 60's woman. Anyone with a taste for the proletarian
humbling of the aristocracy has to admit to a certain longing to warm
the seat of items from her endlessly elegant wardrobe.
1970's --
This was the decade when modern feminism really got underway. I suspect
most of us are quite content with that, though it would eventually doom
the classic punishment spanking. The choices for this decade, as those
for the 90's, are inescapably controversial, so I've tried to be
even-handed.
JANE FONDA -- "Barbarella" belongs to the 60's. These were the years of
"Hanoi Jane," who was a heroine to many and a demon to many others.
ANITA BRYANT -- I said I'd be even-handed. This one wrecked her career
fighting against equality for gays. That has to earn her a place on the
list.
FARRAH FAWCETT -- O.K., this one is a more obvious choice. The only
"Angel" to become an icon, she apparently came from a family where
spanking was much in evidence. (Actually, MY favorite "Angel" was
Sabrina, the "smart one.")
GLORIA STEINEM -- The most prominent symbol of the generation which has
essentially abolished the nonconsensual spanking of the human female --
hopefully forever -- she must endure in fantasy the price of a guilty
wistfulness for what has been lost. Besides, she has, as Mike Doonesbury
once pointed out, "nice legs."
1980's --
The decade when the Empire struck back, the 80's held the high-water
mark of the Religious Right, which would have brought back the
punishment spanking if it could.
MARY HART -- So annoying that her voice allegedly gave someone epileptic
fits, but with legs so sensational that they had to redesign the "ET"
set to show them off, she has to lead off the list for the 80's.
MADONNA -- David Letterman had a theory about her -- he thought she
loved to shock us. She spent the 80's evidently trying to convince
everyone that she needed one, and then slyly suggested that she really
wouldn't mind.
PRINCESS DIANA -- These were the years when she was the fairy-tale
princess, who ulitmately did not live happily ever after. In these
years, as far as we knew at the time, she moved in a charmed circle
which called for breaching -- and unbreeching.
FAWN HALL -- She almost brought down the government by sneaking
classified documents out in her underwear. Such momentous panties should
certainly have been turned down for well-deserved retribution.
TAMMY FAYE BAKKER -- Does anyone doubt she deserves a long session with
the drilled paddle? I could have gone with Jessica Hahn, but heck, it's
MY list.
1990's --
Though punishment spanking was now all but illegal, even for children,
this was the decade when the spread of the Internet made it possible for
the fetishists to find each other.
JENNIFER ANISTON -- How could anyone resist giving this talented beauty
a spot on the list, if only because Rachel has been asking for one since
the show came on? But she's not Number 1.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH -- A classic example of all the bad things that can
happen if a girl has enormous tits and ass but is basically not very
bright, she spent the 90's embarrassing herself. Maybe the stepson who's
old enough to be her father should do the honors. But she isn't Number 1
either.
OPRAH WINFREY -- The most trusted woman in America, with a booty to meet
all comers, she's still not Number 1.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON -- Somehow making a newspaper poll of the ten
most evil people OF THE MILLENNIUM -- her husband just barely lost the
top spot to Adolf Hitler -- she's not Number 1 either, though she would
gladly have served as spanker for the winner:
MONICA LEWINSKY -- Far and away the inevitable Number 1 for the 90's.
The girl's got it all -- absolute shamelessness -- she managed to
embarrass Barbara Walters -- and a tushie that can take whatever is
thrown, or swung, at it.
*********
And for a bonus, a list of the ten most spankable women of 2000:
PATSY RAMSEY -- Look, if you don't want people to think you murdered
your little girl -- and I, for one, doubt you did -- it might help not
to act like a total idiot. A web-site with a sketch based on the
impressions of a psychic??
JESSICA ALBA -- The new star of "Dark Angel"! She kicks ass! She talks
tough and cynical! She saves widows and orphans! She wears tight jeans!
She makes you feel like a pedophile!
DARVA CONGER -- "EEEW! He tried to KISS me! Like I was his WIFE or
something! Well, I have much too much dignity and self-respect for that!
Why, as I was telling that nice Mr. Hefner ...."
MEG RYAN -- I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of her shifting
relationships, but anyone who can stay that CUTE when she's approaching
forty has to get a nod. Some of us have been waiting years for an
excuse.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA -- All right, I could have gone with with Britney,
but once again, it's MY list.
JENNIFER LOPEZ -- Don't you just love it when a beautiful woman, with
downright gorgeous "pompis," starts making ill-advised personal choices?
SELA WARD -- Having dedicated herself to proving that the "over-forty"
crowd has still got it, she should now prove that they can still take
it.
MARISLEYSIS GONZALEZ -- Mercifully almost forgotten now, her "cry on
cue" press appearances quickly got on the nerves.
KATHERINE HARRIS -- I was so hoping to be able to honor Tipper Gore on
this list, but Kathy ruined it. Everyone noticed her habit of using
excessive make-up, but I can think of a pair of cheeks which could have
used a little more "rouge."
LAURA BUSH -- A newly-elected President -- or NOT elected, as the case
may be -- is always Time's "Person of the Year." So a new First Lady
automatically gets a berth here. (Aren't you glad this rule wasn't in
effect for Bush Senior or Dwight Eisenhower?)
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
firm_ha...@my-deja.com
AJ
Dwayne Conyers
spankable IMHO =^D
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A book. A bottle of oil. What more do you need?
http://www.freeforum.com/cgi-bin/gsyndicate.pl?traG00029&&tra
___________________________________
RedGhost
What a brillient piece of writing. You must be a writer for
Entertainment weekly? Vanity Faire?
Very good, I enjoyed your post.
RedGhost aka spooky123
Hadd Enuff
Ageplaydoll
spankees.
Rezz
Julie Moon
this for a while? Really amazing!
Jm
*Give just a little bit more, take a little bit less from each other
tonight* {Moody Blues, Threshold of a Dream}
CrimsnKid6
list:
>Here is my
>list of the most spankable women of the 20th Century, decade by decade:
Interesting list--but I *really* missed one obvious (IMHO anyway) 1930's
'Blonde Bombshell' type...
"Why don't you come up and spank me sometime?"
I'll bet there would have been plenty of *volunteers*...
"Ah yes...I most certainly will, my little chickadee!"
Of course, too much topping can cause SDF (spank-deprivation fever) to people
who are primarily *bottomish* by nature, so I'd have to consider Miss Mae as a
pretty good potential paddle-wielder too...Which is a category I'd put some of
your other choices in also--notably Aimee Semple McPherson, Dorothy Spencer
(the Plan works *both ways*), Jane Fonda, Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem and
(clearly) Madonna, to name the obvious (IMHO) ones.
Some day maybe I'll try a femdom spanker list...Let's see--Eva Peron,
Gabriela Sabatini, Sarah Michelle Gellar...
T.P.I.P.,
--C.K.(Crimson Kid)
LadiKath
>
>AJ
>
No, no darlin'. Miss Diana Rigg does not receive spankings. She gives them.
The producers of the Avengers admit to modeling her style after a Dominatrix.
Of course, I always thought old Steed was Dom, too so I guess they had to find
other people to play with.
I would have loved to have been spanked by either of them.
Twinglobes
>>list of the most spankable women of the 20th Century, decade by decade:
Now how could any 20th Century list miss Tonya Harding! Everyone wanted to
see Nancy take a hairbrush to her bare behind.
CrimsnKid6
> Miss Diana Rigg does not receive spankings. She gives them.
>The producers of the Avengers admit to modeling her style after a Dominatrix.
>Of course, I always thought old Steed was Dom, too so I guess they had to
>find
>other people to play with.
Assuming that you're referring to the Emma Peel character portrayed by Miss
Rigg (partner to Patrick MacNee's John Steed), I have to agree 100% on this--no
way could I imagine her receiving a spanking, although it's easy to fantasize
about her giving a very sound one. That's probably why Ms. Peel and Steed were
merely very good friends--they were both "totally toppish" types!
Although I occasionally like to *write against type* (Willow topping, Seven
of Nine bottoming, etc.), there are certain characters whom I consider "pure
tops" (if characterized as spankos)...James Bond is a Total Top, as are
Jean-Luc Picard and Indiana Jones (with his bullwhip); Batman's a Total Top (at
least in his caped identity) too, which is why he and Catwoman wouldn't make it
as a couple--she's a Dominatrix Deluxe, with her skin-tight black leather
outfit and her snapping whip.
Wonder Woman's also a Dynamic Domme, although she's into bondage and
psychological control more than corporal punishment--others in that Domme
category include Buffy, Xena and maybe Dark Angel.
OTOH, tough-guy Rocky Balboa sometimes seems to be "put in his place"
verbally by Adrienne, so I could envision him bent shorts-down over the ropes
in a boxing ring while she straps his muscular buttocks with the World
Championship belt. Seven of Nine has recently shown heightened sensitivity and
vulnerability, so it's plausible to consider her bare tight buns being paddled
by Captain Janeway.
Of course, this is all IMHO--as is the belief that it takes more than a
*spankable bottom* to make a credible fantasy spankee...
S.F.T.M.,
--C.K.(Crimson Kid)
pyo...@my-deja.com
naughty children.
Since I am a Sub some of the celebrities I would like to spank me
include, Helen Hunt, Sophia Loren, Gillian ( from x-files)
bostnbob
>>For the 1960's I would add Elizabeth Montgomery and Dianna Rigg.
>>
>>AJ
>>
>
>No, no darlin'. Miss Diana Rigg does not receive spankings. She gives them.
>
However, twice in one episode (I believe it was her first), Steed
whacked Mrs. Peels' bent-over bottom with the flat of his blade during
fencing matches.
-- bostnbob
beth83
spankable. Does anyone know exactly which issue of Life Magazine contained the
picture of Ruth Gleave? If anyone does know, I would appreciate it if you would
tell me either through the newsgroup or email me privately.
Thanks,
Beth
bet...@angelfire.com
>1940's --
beth83
says...
> Although I occasionally like to *write against type* (Willow topping, Seven
>of Nine bottoming, etc.), there are certain characters whom I consider "pure
>tops" (if characterized as spankos)...Wonder Woman's also a Dynamic Domme,
>although she's into bondage and
>psychological control more than corporal punishment--others in that Domme
>category include Buffy, Xena and maybe Dark Angel.
<snip>
I have to disagree about Wonder Woman although I can see your point. I even
wrote a story a couple of years ago in which Wonder Woman was spanked back on
Paradise Island by her mother. For her to be a bottom, though, I think it would
have to be with her mother punishing her and not Steve Trevor.
I don't know if anyone here has read the first 12 issues of Wonder Woman, but
there were plenty of references to paddling by WW's sorority friend Etta Candy.
Beth
js...@my-deja.com
beth83 <beth83...@newsguy.com> wrote:
> I loved this article, especially some of the more obscure references
of the
> spankable. Does anyone know exactly which issue of Life Magazine
contained the
> picture of Ruth Gleave? If anyone does know, I would appreciate it if
you would
> tell me either through the newsgroup or email me privately.
The date was January 20, 1941. The two-page spread started off with a
group portrait of the sorority, suppsedly deciding to spank any girl who
didn't keep her legs modestly covered. They then show Ruth doing
everything she shouldn't. On the facing page, they have a shot of Toni
Ryberg, one of the girls slated for a paddling, letting her skirt ride
up while she's sunning herself -- supposedly the offense she had
committed. Presumably, they took similar shots for each of the girls in
line, in case her picture should be chosen for the "money shot."
(Realistically, they were probably all shown sitting on the steps like
Toni.) The photographer then presumably took a series of shots showing
each of the girls catching it in turn, leaving it to the editors to
decide which shot to use. (Wouldn't you have loved having their job?)
Incidentally, a couple years later (February 22, 1943), they sent a
photographer to an initiation for the ladies auxiliary to the V.F.W. in
Iowa. One of the shots shows a local matron stretched across a chair for
a paddling with a serious-looking board. She looks like she's not
wearing a girdle. (Never too old.)
js...@my-deja.com
Had...@webtv.net (Hadd Enuff) wrote:
>
> --WebTV-Mail-14997-121
> Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit
>
> To js666: a very good list, I like most all your choices. I would like
> to add Diana Dors (spelling?) to the list for all those 40s "bobby
> soxer" type roles when you wanted to just smack a teen, and Deborah
> Walley for her 60s Gidget phase. Good thread idea. Muffy the Spankable
> Wench
>
Thanks for the support. Were you aware that Deborah got one from John
McIntyre on a 1965 episode ("The Nancy Styles Story") of "Wagon Train"?
She played the spoiled daughter of the train owner who had run away from
home. She inveigles Barney (Michael Burns) into running away from the
train as well. When they get caught, Barney gets one of the hardest M/m
spankings ever on mainstream TV -- I'm talking "Blue Hawaii" quality.
Nancy makes the incredibly stupid mistake of pointing out that someone
should have done that to her, too. (Guess what happens next?)
Unfortunately, even though Nancy was far more guilty than Barney, her
spanking is kinda wimpy.
Starship
beth83 wrote:
>
> In article <20010104181458...@ng-fk1.aol.com>, crims...@aol.com
> says...
>
> > Although I occasionally like to *write against type* (Willow topping, Seven
> >of Nine bottoming, etc.), there are certain characters whom I consider "pure
> >tops" (if characterized as spankos)...Wonder Woman's also a Dynamic Domme,
> >although she's into bondage and
> >psychological control more than corporal punishment--others in that Domme
> >category include Buffy, Xena and maybe Dark Angel.
> <snip>
>
> I have to disagree about Wonder Woman although I can see your point. I even
> wrote a story a couple of years ago in which Wonder Woman was spanked back on
> Paradise Island by her mother. For her to be a bottom, though, I think it would
> have to be with her mother punishing her and not Steve Trevor.
That does sound interesting. Any chance of a repost?
I've never been a big fan on Wonder Woman, but I have to admit that for
years I've wanted to see WW on Gor. It probably wouldn't result in any
actual spankings, but I think it'd be great fun to watch nevertheless.
> I don't know if anyone here has read the first 12 issues of Wonder Woman, but
> there were plenty of references to paddling by WW's sorority friend Etta Candy.
You mean the first issues back in the 1940's? I had no idea Etta Candy
had been introduced so long ago.
--
Starship
Note: The author of this post wishes to express his appreciation and
thanks to the SSS moderators for their hard work on behalf of the
newsgroup.
Hadd Enuff
Yup, I watched "Wagon Train" in my youth and I remember that episode. I
remember ALL TV and movie episodes that contained spankings. I was fond
of the kink even as a child, before I knew what the attraction was. In
Wagon Train, I liked the long dark sideburns of Robert Hogan (spell.?)
and the authority of the no-nonsense men who spanked, and the badness
that needed driven out by the traditional punishment of the males and
females who were upended. And those spankings were so satisfying in
those days, shoulder-height swings to whack soundly on dull fabric
tightly pulled across small rumps. It sounded like those young people
were getting what they deserved and I enjoyed watching them pay for
their wrongdoings.
I remember I would feel outraged if the spanking was given in error, but
I always wanted to see the spanking happen. You just knew there would be
an apology for the spanking having been given in error, and there was
always a small joke and some laughs and forgiveness of the mistake at
the very end. I knew it would all work out as it should, and I just
wanted to see/hear a spanking happen, whatever the circumstances.
I think what fueled my love of old westerns and old movies (I've never
really liked westerns as a style; I never cared about the ranchers
against the bad guys or the chases on horseback) was there was more
probability of spankings happening in the times of old-fashioned
morality. I looked for the girls to smirk or give haughty looks toward
the hero, or the young boys to break a window or talk back to a teacher
or pull a girl's pigtail. Almost always guaranteed somebody was gonna
get spanked.
Muffy the Wench (p&e)
RJM Hughes
Margaret Thatcher for the 80's (truly deserving beats out truly) and
Rosie O'Donnell for the Zeroes (pretentious femme-supremacy and a good-
sized target)?
But thanks for including Oprah.
Yurassis Dragon
>
>>>Now how could any 20th Century list miss Tonya Harding! Everyone wanted to
see Nancy take a hairbrush to her bare behind.<<<
>
center ice. What a pair of spoiled brats.
Papa
Men are from Earth.
Women are from Earth.
Deal with it.
Alex Birch
reading a quote by Ross Hunter the late Hollywood producer which appeared to
confirm my own view. 'Who would have guessed that beneath all those durndls ..'
he said '...that gal had one of the wildest asses in Hollywood!!'
Alex
'Death is nature's way of telling us to slow down - Woody Allen'